In the System Change scenario, if consumers received 20 euro cents back when they return packaging to seller, it would lead to significantly lower net costs for returnable beverage and personal care bottles compared with single-use options.
I’m skeptical. I remember when you could get 10 cents back for every glass bottle you returned here in Indiana when I was a kid and people still didn’t bother. And 10 cents then was worth a lot more than 20 Euro cents now.
Also, isn’t most plastic packaging non-recyclable anyway?
How much energy does recycling them use? Because that’s another issue I see. If recycling LDPE, PET or MDPE ends up having a bigger carbon footprint than just throwing them away, that should be a factor.
We have that cashback system in Germany, each bottle has between 7 to 25 cent surcharge and it works extremely well. And those bottles are basically pure PET, which is extremely recyclable.
And reusable is nearly always better than recyclable
Except this …
When scientists examined pellets from recycled plastic collected in 13 countries they found hundreds of toxic chemicals, including pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The results are published in a study led by scientists at the University of Gothenburg.
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-hundreds-toxic-chemicals-recycled.html
Here in Korea Coupang - the biggest online store like Amazon - sends food in those reusable containers which they collect next time they deliver something to you or your neighbors: https://www.aboutcoupang.com/English/news/news-details/2022/Rocket-Delivery-Building-the-future-of-sustainable-commerce/default.aspx
